Dangerous Curves Ahead
by SilverWolf3
Summary: When Luke Duke thinks that his day has progessively gone from bad to worse, he just does not realize how bad it is going to get. With Bo laid up in bed through illness, Luke is caught up in one spot of trouble after another.
1. Chapter 1

DANGEROUS CURVES AHEAD - Chapter 1

Fast moving clouds cast shadows across the foothills of the mountainous hillside that encompassed the environs of Hazzard County. The weather has been changeable for the past few days, but like most things in Hazzard that was one of the more normal exceptions to life. In Hazzard you have to expect the unexpected. A breeze shifted the boughs of a nearby Oak.

Luke Duke eyed the gray clouds that had begun to blacken over the mountains to the northwest. "Great, just great." He sighed to himself. He was tired, sore and certain that he was coming down with the cold that had confined his younger cousin, Bo, to bed.

Christmas Eve had seen Luke away from family preparations for the upcoming celebration. His Uncle Jesse had offered Luke's services to one of Jesse Duke's oldest friends – Jock Barnes.

Jock's roof has been in a bad state of repair with many shingles missing or damaged. With the forecasted bad weather on the way, Jock had asked Jesse for help and with only one fit nephew to be of assistance, Luke had drawn the short straw.

Luke had spent most of the day scampering over Jock's roof fixing and replacing the shingles where needed. His back and shoulders ached. He ran his forearm across his perspiring face, then placed his hands on his lower back and worked out the kinks.

"Anything else that you need doin'?" Luke asked as he accepted mug of hot chocolate from Jock.

The older man rubbed his work-lined face, his blue eyes danced from behind the etched lines that surrounded his eyes. Lines earned from the constant squint into the sun and dust as he worked the fields that provided crops that kept him and his friends fed. "Well iffen you wouldn't mind, Luke, I have a couple more small jobs that do need attendin' to." Jock's teeth showed when he grinned

Luke closed his eyes, took a deep breath and released it slowly. "That is not a smile that is just a bunch of teeth playing with my mind. It is Christmas Eve and here I am fixing shingles and mending roves" Luke thought as he negotiated with himself whether he would stay and help Jock Barnes. "Sure, why not. Lead on." He figured that before the day was over that Jock would be back with an assortment of 'small' jobs for him to do.

Almost six hours later after doing the few small chores that old Jock had wanted done, Luke Duke was finally on his way home. To the northwest the slate gray sides of the mountains rose up to meet him. The road he travelled was full of twist and hairpin turns. Careful skill was required to navigate the roads safely. Once again Luke eyed the blackening clouds. He expected rain within the next hour and prayed that the foreboding storm would not obliterate the road that barely passed as a path for the nimble footed mountain goats.

**Now if Luke is thinking that the road would be impassable don't you think he would have been better off staying with Jock Barnes?**

"Damn!" Luke cussed and was grateful that his Uncle Jesse was not there to listen to his language. A jackrabbit darted in front of the General Lee and in Luke's field of vision. He sucked in a breath and steered the orange stockcar to the left-hand side of the road. The nerves in the pit of his stomach tightened when he felt the tyres bite into the gravel. He stopped and counted his blessings – both for himself and the jackrabbit.

Luke drove on again, this time he took more care. All was going well, albeit slowly. Many washouts were apparent on the roadside. Luke thought about the money that Boss Hogg had promised to put into the repairs of roads – money that mysteriously disappeared, yet the new Hogg Spa and Sauna had managed to be built. He shook his head in disgust as he avoided yet another pothole that would have swallowed the General Lee whole.

The storm clouds that had threatened to unleash their torrential downpour finally conceded and within minutes unleashed its fury. Distant thunder rolled back as if a giant hand had tumbled massive dominoes across the heavens while the sky exploded with lightening.

"Damn it!" the dark haired young man cursed a second time. Awed and frightened at the same time of the majestic power of the forces of nature Luke exhaled a breath he did not realize that he had been holding. He seriously contemplated turning the car around and heading back to Jock Barnes home. He berated himself for not taking Jock up on his offer of staying the night.

He was so wrapped up in his own silent tirade against the weather and the chores he had done for Jock that had grown from the repair of some shingles, to fixing shutters, mechanical repairs on the water pumps and beyond that he did not see the lightening that split the tree in front of him.

Luke's blue eyes were wide with fear when he saw the inevitable to happen.

**Now friends, it seems like that poor boys luck has just taken a giant step from poor to really bad.**

To be continued - soonish


	2. Chapter 2

**Now friends, it seems like that poor boys luck has just taken a giant step from poor to really bad.**

**Chapter 2** **(revised)**

With the skill of a professional driver, Luke maneuvered the car to avoid a collision with the lightening-struck tree. The crash of the massive tree as it hit the ground reverberated in the valley. Meanwhile the fast operation that Luke had performed to get the General Lee out of the way had resulted in an undesired end. The car struck the side of an embankment and hit the underside hard and scraped against some bush.

It just was not Luke's day. Sure, he had missed the tree but for the promise that he had made earlier in the morning to his cousin Bo, about not putting a single scratch on the General was about to be undone. Technically he had not put a 'single' scratch on the car he had put several – so the promise was in a round about way kept.

Luke closed his eyes, tilted his head back against the headrest and sighed. "No time like the present to see what mess I've done this time." He clambered out of the vehicle and crawled underneath it. "Darn it!" He said in frustration. Oil oozed from one of the hoses. Luke rubbed the oil on his jeans and continued to survey the rest of the damage. After thirty minutes he had made an extensive mental list of the repair work needed, Cooter was certainly going to require substantial payment this time.

Cooter Davenport owned the only garage in Hazzard County and was like kin to the Duke clan. Anything that he could do for Jesse and his family he would – even if it meant diverting the course of Sheriff Roscoe P Coltrane's version of justice away from Bo and Luke Duke.

Again a very despondent Luke Duke cast his eyes heavenward. "I suppose it's too much to ask for a minor miracle that I might make it home sometime today." He kicked at some gravel in disgust. At that moment it seemed like the whole world was against him for he was caught in an instantaneous downpour. In his haste to escape the rain he hit his right knee as he clambered into the General Lee. "Christmas!" Luke growled. "Some Christmas this is."

Although the General was leaking oil there still might have been a chance that the car was drivable. Luke tried the ignition but to no avail. All that resulted was a lone clicking noise. He reached for the C.B radio and knew before he began that it was a fruitless exercise. Before the last accident the reception had been none existent and now with the lack of power from the battery he was not going to be able to raise any assistance.

With nothing more that he could do, he wound the windows up, leaned back against the driver's seat and thought about his family. He gave thought to Bo and wondered how he was coping. The seasonal flu that he had come down with had really hit him hard. Bo was not the most patient of people when he was sick. He hoped that his cousin Daisy wouldn't come down with a cold or their Uncle Jesse would have his hands full for sure.

Unsure of how much time had elapsed; Luke awoke when he felt himself shiver. He wasn't even sure at what point that he had dozed off. He needed something to keep his mind occupied while he waited for help. He reached into the back seat of the car and pulled forward his guitar. He settled himself into a comfortable position and proceeded to strum a few tunes.

**Duke Farm**

"Uncle Jesse, when did Luke say that he would be home?" Daisy asked. She had just finished the dinner preparations and was taking Bo another glass of honey sweetened tea. "He will be home for Christmas won't he?"

Jesse Duke tugged at his snowy-white whiskers and looked thoughtfully at his niece. "Well, Jock did mention thathe had a few jobs that needed doing. And Jock, well he aint one fer stoppin' at just one job, 'n the last time I was at his place he had a lot that needed doin'." Jesse paused to look at his timepiece. "I reckon that Luke would've had three or four hours work to do, unless Jock took advantage of Luke's generous nature and gave him a few more chores that needed to be completed." Jesse looked out the living room window at the darkened sky. The rain had been beating a steady staccato rhythm against the farm house for the past two hours. "Daisy, there is nothing more in the world that I would like, than to have Luke home with his family to celebrate this joyous season. But I just hope that boy has the sense to hold up at Jock's place until this weather blows over. The road home from Jock's house will be nearly impassable by now."

**See, now Uncle Jesse he knows a thing or two about the ways of nature and that includes old Jock Barnes.**

Daisy nodded in agreement and offered a small smile in return. "I sure hope you're right, Uncle Jesse. As much as I miss Luke and wish he was home with us, I just want him to be safe and warm." Daisy jumped in shock when a thunderclap boomed overhead and shook the small farm house.

**LUKE'S POSITION**

Having sung himself a few country tunes, Luke turned his hand to playing some Christmas carols. Finally in a better frame of mind he thought about the handcrafted gifts he had made fro each of his family.

For Jesse a hand-carved display cabinet to display photos of his late wife and siblings that had passed on as well as all the other important mementos in his life. Over the years Jesse had collected a fair few and had shared them with Daisy and the boys.

He hand painstakingly hand-carved the most intricate of designs into the timber that made up the display cabinet.

Bo's gift had been a little harder for Luke to plan. As he and his cousin shared a room there really wasn't a lot of space in which he could put anything extravagant like Jesse's gift. Luke had finally opted to make Bo a carved series of shelving on which he could place the trophies that he had won during his high school years and various models that he had collected during the years.

Finally to Daisy he had made her a small set of drawers in which to keep photos, jewelry and other important things. As Luke reflected upon his creative gifts he thought about the traditional Christmas dinner that his cousin Daisy would spend hours preparing. It really wouldn't take that long to prepare if Bo and Luke would stay out of the kitchen. Luke's stomach protested loudly at the mere thought of food reminding him that it had been several hours since he had eaten.

Luke was hungry, thirsty, cold and tired and so desperately wanted to get home to the comforts that waited there for him – family, warmth, food and a dry place to sleep.

In the distance Luke was certain that he had seen car lights. 'Probably just wishful thinking', he shrugged. No, there it was again. Lights hitting the trees and coming closer.

**Well friends it looks like Luke might be making it home for Christmas after all. Who said miracles don't happen at Christmas?**


End file.
